TMS Entertainment, Ltd. (Japan)
Background TMS was founded in 1964 by Yutaka Fujioka as Tokyo Movie. In 1976, the original company went bankrupt and was revived a year later, becoming Tokyo Movie Shinsha. The company was very prominent in the 1980's, becoming one of Japan's largest animation studios. In 1992, the company was purchased by Kyokuichi, with the merged company becoming TMS-Kyokuichi. In 1999, the name became TMS Entertainment, Ltd., dropping the Tokyo Movie Shinsha moniker it had been using since 1977. In 2005, the company was acquired by Sega Sammy. 1st Logo (1978-1983) Logo: On the blue background, at the center, there was a small TV tube with the letters "tms" (In an abstract cursive font) on it. Below the tube, there are white words: "TOKYO MOVIE SHINSHA CO., LTD." FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: None. Availability: Extinct. Seen on old HBO airings of episodes of Sherlock Hounds, but not on Celebrity's Just for Kids VHS releases. This was also seen on older prints of the Toho/Frontier dub of Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo, which are inferior. Updated prints of that film deleted this logo, but it may survive via tape trading. Scare Factor: None. 2nd Logo (1983-1990s) Logo: On a black background, we see a stylized "TMS" in blue and red, with white words "TOKYO MOVIE SHINSHA CO., LTD." below it. After a few seconds, the words sparkle out, and the stylized "TMS" turns 3D, moving toward the viewer while leaving residue behind, with the residue following shortly afterwards (likely it's going backwards). Variant: On some films, like The Castle of Cagliostro, the logo is still. FX/SFX: The sparkles and the moving TMS. Nice effects for its time. Music/Sounds: On some films (like Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy), it has the 4-note Charter Video-like synth that repeats throughout the logo, chimes for the sparkles, and loud whooshes for the movement of "TMS". Usually, it was silent. Although Little Nemo: Adevntures in Slumberland (All U.S. versions, including the 1992 Hemdale re-release and the 2004 OurTime Family Entertainment DVD release) has the opening song starting halfway through the logo. Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on Streamline or AnimEigo dubs of TMS properties. This is subject to plastering on 90s VHS releases and on current HD prints. Scare Factor: Minimal to low, if there is music. The theme becomes progressively dramatic, but it's cool. None for silent versions. 3rd Logo (1984-1988) Logo: On a blue background, we see a silver TMS in a bold font. Then, it turns onto its side and morphs into a cursive TMS (with the S and T connected by a rounded rectangle).The word "ENTERTAINMENT" appears below, and the logo shines. FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The letters "morphing" and the logo shining. Music/Sounds: Silence or the end theme of the show. Availability: Scarce. Preserved on the Media Blasters release of Galaxy High, and it was also seen on TV shows like The Mighty Orbots (before the MGM/UA "Diamond Jubilee" TV logo), Visionaries (before the Sunbow logo), and Bionic Six (before the MCA TV logo). Scare Factor: None. 4th Logo (1999-2009) Logo: The clouds moves away to reveal the cloudy sky background with the yellow light of the sun. Emerging from the light, the lightwipe brings forth the rainbow that bubbles, then three dolphins move toward the screen. When the middle dolphin moves away, the water splashes to reveal the customized "TMS" (Consisting of "T" with a white dot and a pink dot, a "M" and aa "S"). Then , the blackground fades to the purple/white gradient background. The black words "ENTERTAINMENT, LTD." fades in below. It gradient fades to black. Variant: On some shows (e.g., the U.S. 4Kids Entertainment dubbed version of Sonic X), the logo is already-formed and it was still on a black background. FX/SFX: CGI-Animation, and the dolphins is cute for the normal version. Music/Sounds: For the normal version, it has sparkling sounds, a dolphin noise, bubbling noises, and a dolphin chirping. Availability: Common. Seen on newer and older TMS properties. The normal version is seen at the end of episodes of the uncut French dub of Sonic X, sometimes followed by the Buena Vista International Television logo. The still version appears at the end of television productions. It plasters older logos such as on the Japanese Blu-Ray of Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland and Geneon DVDs of the original Lupin III series. Scare Factor: None. 5th Logo (2007- ) COMING SOON Category:Japan